A number of news stories in recent weeks have shown the influence of the waning strong El Niño on climate around the world. Here is a sampling of stories on the agricultural impacts of droughts in some of these areas.
News24 reported that drought in Zimbabwe has caused the deaths of at least 19,300 head of cattle as of the end of February, with more deaths reported since then. Last year the government warned that up to 99% of the cattle could be lost due to lack of pastures and competition for water with people. https://www.news24.com/Africa/Zimbabwe/drought-kills-at-least-19-300-cattle-in-zimbabwe-20160224
In March iSciences reported that drought in Brazil has become persistent, leading to long-term deficits in water in the Amazon basin. The story includes an interesting time series of maps showing how the drought has grown over time. https://www.isciences.com/blog/2016/2/29/is-the-past-decade-of-persistent-drought-in-brazil-a-new-normal
This week Yahoo News reported that the water in the island of Palau in the western Pacific may run out of water altogether due to drought in that region. Water is rationed to less than 3 hours per day, and they are expected to run out completely in 2-3 weeks unless help is provided from Japan or Taiwan. https://www.yahoo.com/news/drought-hit-palau-could-dry-totally-month-090749369.html
